1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods of teaching wherein the student is exposed to or experiences the perspective of a relevant person, animal, or object. More particularly, the present invention concerns a method of teaching a skill, such as, for example, hunting, tracking, law enforcement, terrorist response, self-defense, or game-playing technique, whereby the student is exposed to or otherwise experiences the perspective of a relevant person, animal, or object, such as, for example, a game player, victim, criminal, terrorist, animal, or ball, whose identity is determined by the nature of the skill, and wherein a mechanism, such as, for example, prerecorded video, computer animation, virtual reality, role-playing, or a similar mechanism, is used to impart the perspective to the student.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is often helpful when learning a skill to consider and appreciate the environment and context in which the skill is performed. A hunter learning proper duck hunting techniques, for example, must learn to properly camouflage a blind or other concealed shelter or area from which the hunter will observe and shoot; arrange duck decoys in a realistic and effective pattern on a pond or other body of water; and make realistic and appropriate duck calls at the proper times. Unfortunately, the hunter will typically be taught such techniques from a two-dimensional human perspective which may provide inadequate insight into the efficacy of the hunter""s endeavors and any actual effects stemming therefrom.
Similarly, a golfer, for example, may intellectually comprehend a need to account for wind shear when driving or to account for ground contours when putting, but may lack a fundamental understanding or appreciation of potential forces which might act on the ball. Without such understanding, the golfer can never fully learn or appreciate proper driving or putting techniques.
Similarly, in law enforcement or terrorist response, for example, a number of techniques, including, for example, close-quarter combat with edged weapons, suspect interrogation, and arrest procedures, are taught from a third-party perspective, wherein a law enforcement officer or other student merely observes participants demonstrating proper movements, actions, or other techniques. Unfortunately, though the law enforcement officer may comprehend these lessons on a sterile intellectual level, it is unlikely that such passive, non-participatory observation will impart a fundamental understanding or appreciation of the victim""s, aggressor""s, criminal""s, or terrorist""s view, behavior, or thoughts. Without such a fundamental understanding or appreciation, it is further unlikely that the law enforcement officer will develop the insight and intuition needed to maximize his or her performance of a wide variety of law enforcement skills, including, for example, self-defense, investigatory, and procedural skills.
Due to the above-identified and other problems and disadvantages in the art, a need exists for an improved method of teaching a skill such as hunting or sporting techniques.
The present invention provides a distinct advance in the art of teaching. More particularly, the present invention concerns a method of teaching a skill, such as, for example, hunting, tracking, law enforcement, terrorist response, self-defense, or game-playing technique, whereby a student is exposed to or otherwise experiences a perspective of a relevant thing, whether person, animal, or object, such as, for example, a game player, victim, criminal, terrorist, animal, or ball, whose identity is determined by the nature of the skill, and wherein a mechanism, such as, for example, prerecorded video, computer animation, virtual reality, role-playing, or a similar mechanism, is used to impart the perspective to the student.
In a preferred embodiment, the method broadly comprises the general steps of identifying a behavior of the thing, wherein the behavior is related to the skill; modeling a perspective of the thing related to the behavior in terms understandable by the student; implementing the model using an appropriate mechanism; and introducing the student to the mechanism such that, through the mechanism, the student is exposed to or otherwise experiences the perspective of the thing and is thereby better able to understand the behavior. It will be appreciated that an understanding or better understanding of the behavior will result in the learning of or improvement in performance of the skill.
As mentioned, in prior art teaching methods the student is faced with learning the skill without truly understanding or developing a fundamental appreciation of why certain things are done the way they are. The present invention advantageously provides exposure to and appreciation of a perspective which is helpful to the student in performing the skill. In duck hunting, for example, it is advantageous to understand the behaviors and perspectives of a duck. Similarly, in the game of golf it is advantageous to understand the behaviors and perspectives of a skilled player. Similarly, for the law enforcement officer, soldier, prison guard, security guard, airline pilot, and airline flight attendant it is advantageous to understand and appreciate the perspectives of victims, criminals, terrorists, enemy soldiers, or aggressors, as applicable, in order to develop the insight and intuition needed to maximize his or her performance of a wide variety of relevant skills. Furthermore, as provided for by the present invention, it is even more beneficial to experience the perspectives of both of two or more persons involved in an event, such as, for example, the perspectives of both the attacked person and the attacker.
These and other important features of the present invention are more fully described in the section titled DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT, below.